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For the first time in over 30 years, the NCAA Division III Cross Country Nationals are being held in Northeast Ohio, with today’s event at the Highland Golf Course in Highland Heights.

Baldwin-Wallace College junior Karin Coyne of Columbia Township couldn’t be happier because the Yellow Jackets earned a ticket to the big show.

B-W qualified by virtue of winning the Ohio Athletic Conference on Oct. 31 at Wilmington and placing fifth at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Meet at Rose-Hulman Institute on Nov. 14 in Terre Haute, Ind.

Those two performances earned the Jackets an at-large berth at today’s national meet.

Last year the B-W women also finished fifth at regionals, but were denied a bid because they came in only second in the OAC.

“It’s been something that we’ve been working for since I’ve been there,” said Coyne. “It’s nice. Our whole team came together at regionals. We all had our best race of the season. It’s nice that all that work has paid off.”

There are 32 automatic team qualifiers plus 32 at-large team qualifiers for both the men and women’s fields. The B-W women are rated the third best team in Ohio, fifth in the Great Lakes Region (Ohio, Indiana and Michigan) and 30^th nationally.

“We really have a strong team. We really all get along,” said Coyne. “It’s nice to know that even if you have a bad race, everyone is still very supportive. I really think that helps us always give 100 percent, knowing that the team is there for you no matter what.”

Unlike high school cross country runners, who compete 5K, the collegiate men compete 8K (approximately five miles) and the women 6K or 3.8 miles.

The excitement regarding the announcement of the at-large bid on Sunday was mounting before it was officially announced.

“We all kept checking the B-W Web site on Sunday,” said Coyne. “When the result (the at-large bid) was announced, the word got around to the team in about five minutes.”

Coyne was B-W’s No. 4 runner at the OAC championships, finishing 10th overall in 23:08.96. She was the team’s No. 3 runner, taking 36th overall at regionals in 23:39.07.

“We were fifth at regionals last year and sixth my freshman year,” said Coyne. “We’ve always been close enough to have it as a good goal.”

The B-W women have competed at the NCAA Division III National Cross Country Championship meet six times, including this fall.

B-W was an all-time school-best 12th in the nation in 2000-2001. In addition, the Yellow Jackets were 17th in 1995-96, 18th in 1999-2000, 20th in 2001-2002 and 21st in 1994-95.

“Right from the start (this season) we had a strong core group,” said Coyne. “We brought six of our top seven back from last year. We were all really working (this season). You can tell right away from the beginning of the season that we were a lot stronger.”

Coyne, a pre-physical therapy major, knew right away that B-W was the right school for her. It was one of only two colleges or universities that she visited as a high school senior.

“I just wanted that team element,” said Coyne. “In high school, we had to beg other kids to come out for cross country so we could have enough for a complete team (five minimum). The other reason I chose B-W was that I train my dogs. I didn’t want to stop training them. The convenience was a big deciding factor.”

B-W has hosted the NCAA Division III Track and Field Nationals five times (1977, ’84, ’91, ’93 and ’99), but never hosted cross country nationals before now.

The only other time the event was hosted in this region was back in 1976 and ’77. Case Western Reserve University hosted the national event at Highland Country Club under the direction of the late Bill Sudeck, CWRU head coach and meet director.

”The nice thing is that we get a ticket to ‘The Dance,’” said 19th-year B-W head coach Bill Taraschke, 67, who coached at Brookside from 1971-75. “The girls get a chance to run in the meet.”

“I’m very excited for our women’s team,” said Taraschke, who has been regional coach of the year 12 times and national coach of the year twice.

“They are a group of runners that weren’t heralded coming out of high school. They’ve worked so hard to keep improving and get to where they’re at right now. I’m just very excited for them and very proud of them.”

Since coming on board at B-W first as head track coach in 1984, Taraschke track and cross country teams have combined for 47 OAC titles. He has coached cross country for B-W since 1991.

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